Friday June 14th, 2014 – Island Lake, IL
This
was my Facebook post today, and what made me decide I should start blogging again:
Yesterday was a rare day all around. Not only
was it Friday the 13th AND a full moon, I got together with my sister Tammy at
her house to celebrate her birthday which is actually Sunday the 15th. We had
not spoken or had contact for a full TWENTY YEARS until all three of my
siblings and I got together this past March for a reunion meal.
Family relationships can be infamously and notoriously delicate, and I know I'm not the only one that has been estranged from siblings or parents for years. I will say that our wayward tribe is at the top of the extreme list though, but the crackpots and wackadoos it all trickled down from are now dead and we are left and doing our best to 'break the chain'.
There was a touch of awkwardness in March, but it didn't last long. We had a really fun time that night, and it was a tremendous start. Last month I cautiously asked Tammy if I could take her out for a birthday meal, and she suggested we get together at her house to have a barbecue instead.
I had never seen her house, and she bought it with lottery winnings. She won a nice chunk of money 19 years ago - and then paid off the rest of the family so they wouldn't tell me she won. It was very hurtful then, but we were both able to share a hearty laugh about it in March, and any pain or ill feelings are long gone.
There was also a time when I was 17 and lived with Tammy and her husband Jake when they were newly married and I needed a place to live. The rampant dysfunction in our family made it necessary to leave my grandparents' house where I was raised because our grandfather had died and our grandmother was an icy cold German who had her own severe childhood issues. She passed a heap of them down to my father, and he in turn passed them on to us. The chain needed to be broken.
Tammy didn't have to take me in but she did, and it was a very tense time for everyone. I used to bitch about her cooking constantly, but she was 21 and newly married and the last thing she needed was an asshole brother in the mix. I didn't see that then, but I see it with crystal clarity now. I never felt close to Tammy as a small child, and sure didn't at that time either.
Last night, Tammy grilled out a delicious feast of steak and chicken, and made a homemade pasta salad and cake that were probably the most delicious home cooked dishes I have ever eaten. The company helped, and I savored every scrumptious bite and every minute of conversation with her and Jake. We sat down to eat and before we knew it five hours had passed.
She hauled out a giant plastic storage tub of photo albums and we looked at all kinds of family pictures I had never seen before - and many that I had. Twenty years away is a long time. There were several pics of all of us as kids, and from the time when I lived with her. It brought back a flood of memories good and bad, but I think we needed to look through them together and just let a healing process take over. There were some deep thoughts exchanged between the three of us about topics that have been festering in all of us for decades - but not ONE cross word. We were intelligent adults discussing painful memories.
Family relationships can be infamously and notoriously delicate, and I know I'm not the only one that has been estranged from siblings or parents for years. I will say that our wayward tribe is at the top of the extreme list though, but the crackpots and wackadoos it all trickled down from are now dead and we are left and doing our best to 'break the chain'.
There was a touch of awkwardness in March, but it didn't last long. We had a really fun time that night, and it was a tremendous start. Last month I cautiously asked Tammy if I could take her out for a birthday meal, and she suggested we get together at her house to have a barbecue instead.
I had never seen her house, and she bought it with lottery winnings. She won a nice chunk of money 19 years ago - and then paid off the rest of the family so they wouldn't tell me she won. It was very hurtful then, but we were both able to share a hearty laugh about it in March, and any pain or ill feelings are long gone.
There was also a time when I was 17 and lived with Tammy and her husband Jake when they were newly married and I needed a place to live. The rampant dysfunction in our family made it necessary to leave my grandparents' house where I was raised because our grandfather had died and our grandmother was an icy cold German who had her own severe childhood issues. She passed a heap of them down to my father, and he in turn passed them on to us. The chain needed to be broken.
Tammy didn't have to take me in but she did, and it was a very tense time for everyone. I used to bitch about her cooking constantly, but she was 21 and newly married and the last thing she needed was an asshole brother in the mix. I didn't see that then, but I see it with crystal clarity now. I never felt close to Tammy as a small child, and sure didn't at that time either.
Last night, Tammy grilled out a delicious feast of steak and chicken, and made a homemade pasta salad and cake that were probably the most delicious home cooked dishes I have ever eaten. The company helped, and I savored every scrumptious bite and every minute of conversation with her and Jake. We sat down to eat and before we knew it five hours had passed.
She hauled out a giant plastic storage tub of photo albums and we looked at all kinds of family pictures I had never seen before - and many that I had. Twenty years away is a long time. There were several pics of all of us as kids, and from the time when I lived with her. It brought back a flood of memories good and bad, but I think we needed to look through them together and just let a healing process take over. There were some deep thoughts exchanged between the three of us about topics that have been festering in all of us for decades - but not ONE cross word. We were intelligent adults discussing painful memories.
Our mother left when I was five months old, and Tammy was
4 1/2. She has her own pain and issues with it, and it's different from mine.
She is the only girl, and has been dealing with her pain the best she can all these
years. She and Jake raised two very sweet kids and now they are grandparents of
four more. They live a quiet peaceful life, and are doing a great job breaking
the chain.
The four of us siblings could NOT be any more different people, but we all came from the same genetic cesspool. Our brother Larry was scheduled to come, but had a last minute emergency and had to back out. Our other brother Bruce Dobrient lives in Florida. I was sorry we couldn't all get together again as a group, but I think it was important for Tammy and me to get some one on one time after all these years apart. I didn't feel even a hint of any negative energy.
I never felt close to Tammy as a kid, and it felt like she just didn't like me. All I wanted was to have a chance as adults to sit and air our feelings intelligently so we could both see where the other was coming from. We totally did that last night, and it went exactly as I hoped it would.There is no lingering anger on either side and I think we can FINALLY start to build a sibling relationship after all the pain and insanity we have both had to face. I know it will end very well.
What a one of a kind surreal day it was on so many levels. If it took a full moon and Friday the 13th to do it, so be it. I know there are others that have been apart from their families for years. I thought I would NEVER get a chance to reunite with any one of my three siblings, but now I am on good terms with them all and I know it's not fake or temporary. We all realize the delicate nature of life, and despite where we all came from we are solid people and I'm proud of us all.
All four of us could easily have gone off the deep end and been serial killers or habitual criminals and nobody would have blamed us, but we have all chosen to fight it out and do our best. Getting together with Tammy was a highlight of my life, and at the end of the night she gave me a hug and invited me back any time I want to show up. I have a comedy show at the Northern Lights Theatre at Potawatomi Casino in Milwaukee on July 19th, and she and Jake are planning on coming out. Larry and Bruce will be invited too. I am just overjoyed to have this happen. Even if they don't make it out, I'm sure we'll all get together again.
I have no idea if anyone even read this far, but I had to get it out of my system. I think I'm going to start up my blog again because there is so much happening I can't keep track of it all.
The point of this post is - patience DOES pay dividends. I will cherish last night's visit for the rest of my life, and I know Tammy got something from it too. If you have a rotten or even slightly shaky family situation, HANG IN THERE because I am living proof it can totally change - and for the better.
We're not the Cleavers and never will be, but we're not the Munsters anymore either. What a relief! Miracles do happen, and this is something I've been asking for my entire life. It was without a doubt the best Friday the 13th of all time.
The four of us siblings could NOT be any more different people, but we all came from the same genetic cesspool. Our brother Larry was scheduled to come, but had a last minute emergency and had to back out. Our other brother Bruce Dobrient lives in Florida. I was sorry we couldn't all get together again as a group, but I think it was important for Tammy and me to get some one on one time after all these years apart. I didn't feel even a hint of any negative energy.
I never felt close to Tammy as a kid, and it felt like she just didn't like me. All I wanted was to have a chance as adults to sit and air our feelings intelligently so we could both see where the other was coming from. We totally did that last night, and it went exactly as I hoped it would.There is no lingering anger on either side and I think we can FINALLY start to build a sibling relationship after all the pain and insanity we have both had to face. I know it will end very well.
What a one of a kind surreal day it was on so many levels. If it took a full moon and Friday the 13th to do it, so be it. I know there are others that have been apart from their families for years. I thought I would NEVER get a chance to reunite with any one of my three siblings, but now I am on good terms with them all and I know it's not fake or temporary. We all realize the delicate nature of life, and despite where we all came from we are solid people and I'm proud of us all.
All four of us could easily have gone off the deep end and been serial killers or habitual criminals and nobody would have blamed us, but we have all chosen to fight it out and do our best. Getting together with Tammy was a highlight of my life, and at the end of the night she gave me a hug and invited me back any time I want to show up. I have a comedy show at the Northern Lights Theatre at Potawatomi Casino in Milwaukee on July 19th, and she and Jake are planning on coming out. Larry and Bruce will be invited too. I am just overjoyed to have this happen. Even if they don't make it out, I'm sure we'll all get together again.
I have no idea if anyone even read this far, but I had to get it out of my system. I think I'm going to start up my blog again because there is so much happening I can't keep track of it all.
The point of this post is - patience DOES pay dividends. I will cherish last night's visit for the rest of my life, and I know Tammy got something from it too. If you have a rotten or even slightly shaky family situation, HANG IN THERE because I am living proof it can totally change - and for the better.
We're not the Cleavers and never will be, but we're not the Munsters anymore either. What a relief! Miracles do happen, and this is something I've been asking for my entire life. It was without a doubt the best Friday the 13th of all time.
I still have a mountain of problems to climb, but
this was a great healer of my inner turmoil.
 |
| Yesterday was THE best Friday the 13th I could ever imagine. I hope to have many more like it. |
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